Saint Louis and Kansas City are shrinking. Both cities levy a 1-percent earnings tax on residents, and although proponents rationalize that such a low rate would not have much of an adverse economic effect, evidence suggests that — on the contrary — earnings taxes may be driving business and entrepreneurs into suburbs, away from the urban core.
Metro transit cuts have left many disabled individuals in the Saint Louis area without affordable transportation options. Stretcher vans could provide an alternative, but a few unnecessary government-mandated licensure provisions, such as EMT or paramedic training requirements, increase the cost of service without providing an essential benefit.
Springfield’s police and fire pension system has an unfunded liability of $197 million, and filling that gap is a big political problem. Defined contribution plans like the one in Springfield are set up in such a way that government bears the risk when asset prices fall. Defined contribution plans, on the other hand, have predictable and stable costs.
Missouri’s legislative discussions of how to spend federal stimulus money were a case study in logrolling politics. Determining which subsidy would have been better for Missouri is beside the point, because our legislators do not have the ability to know which public expenditure constitutes the best use for the money.
Missouri’s House Joint Resolution 36 calls for a vote to replace the state’s income tax with an increase in the sales tax rate. Basic economics tells us that this would lead to an increase in the number of hours that Missourians are willing to work, and more production of goods and services. H.J.R. 36 would improve Missourians’ economic well-being.
Although the proposed Franklin County charter has some disagreeable aspects, like insufficiently strong protection against eminent domain abuse and granting government officials the ability to hire lobbyists, it is still largely a positive step forward. Franklin County has grown to the point where it makes sense to become a self-governing entity.
Joseph Haslag, economics professor at the University of Missouri–Columbia and executive vice president of the Show-Me Institute, explains in this radio commentary for KBIA 91.3 FM in Columbia that, although Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been fretting about deflation, the real danger in current Federal Reserve policy is the potential for long-term inflation.
One of the reasons that America has long been known as the “land of opportunity” is that its citizens are understood to have the freedom to make decisions for themselves. Rather than having their lives dictated to them, as is the case in so many nations across the world, Americans engage in the pursuit of happiness by cultivating an extremely broad array of tastes and interests. For many, this includes the choice to smoke.
In order for MoDOT and other transportation agencies to have the ability to seriously consider public-private partnerships — state officials would be well advised to consider passing wide-ranging enabling legislation that would authorize agencies, particularly MoDOT, to enter into these types of projects when careful analysis has deemed them to be both viable and beneficial.
During Dr. Caroline Hoxby's recent trip to Saint Louis to speak about charter school research, she spent a few minutes speaking with the Show-Me Institute about some of the key points contained in her lecture. In this interview, Hoxby explains the benefits of charter schools, outlines the challenges that charter schools currently face, points out the reasons for success in many charters, and more.
Caroline Hoxby, Ph.D., the Scott and Donya Bommer Professor of Economics at Stanford University, spoke about "The Promise and Performance of Charter Schools" on May 5, 2009, in a lecture cosponsored by the Show-Me Institute and Saint Louis University's John Cook School of Business. Hoxby is also a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, the director of the Economics of Education Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and Senior Fellow of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
Joseph G. Lehman, president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, speaks at a Show-Me Institute event on Tuesday, April 7, 2009, in Columbia, Mo., about the importance of free-market think tanks in helping to shape the intellectual and cultural ideas that ultimately determine public policy.
This policy study undertakes a broad review of Missouri’s state and local governmental structure, as viewed from the perspective of public choice economics. It applies various economic theories, as well as insights from the broader world of political science, to Missouri’s present system of government and politics. This study’s findings include proof of the economies of scale that occur when measuring spending within smaller Missouri counties. They also describe the lack of any hard proof of relative overspending in the city of Saint Louis, despite strong theoretical indications that such proof might be found. The author concludes the study with recommendations for ways to improve the quality and efficiency of government in Missouri.
Privately financed and operated highways are an idea whose time has come, ended, and returned. The idea returns, however, as part of an infinitely more complicated system than that of America’s 19th-century turnpike era. Throughout the 20th century, public expenditures were successfully used to finance, design, and implement the transportation infrastructure that helped to open the United States for its great economic expansion — most famously, the Interstate Highway System. Several factors have brought the private sector back into transportation infrastructure. The economic analysis of these issues is the focus of this study.
The Missouri public pension system currently faces serious long-term financial challenges. Missouri taxpayers are facing compound problems regarding the state’s ability to manage effectively both defined benefit public pension and retiree medical liabilities. While current payments to retirees are not in jeopardy, the emerging cost patterns to both current and future members and taxpayers will be predicated upon future asset growth and favorable health care cost trends, both of which present significant risks to taxpayers.
The licensing of occupations in Missouri could be could be costing consumers more for some services. Although a nationwide survey by the Reason Foundation last year listed Missouri as the state with the fewest statewide occupational licensing requirements, many occupations are still subject to unnecessary restrictions on who may enter the profession. This drives up prices and can, in many cases, spur business owners to locate elsewhere. This case study focuses in particular on massage therapists. It compares the prices of massage therapy in Missouri, which licenses therapists statewide, and Kansas, which doesn’t. It looks at price comparisons in the metropolitan Kansas City market and compares Springfield to Wichita. The study documents how massage therapist licensing in Missouri leads to higher costs for consumers in Springfield, and leads to more businesses locating in on the Kansas side of the state line in Kansas City.
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Check out Show-Me Daily, the Show-Me Institute's blog, where we provide fresh news and views on Missouri public policy every day.
Eminent Domain Amicus Brief
On Nov. 29, the Show-Me Institute filed a brief of amicus curiae in the Missouri Supreme Court eminent domain case City of Arnold v. Homer Tourkakis. Read SMI's argument in favor of strong property rights.
From Equity to Adequacy to Choice
On Oct. 30, 2007, the Show-Me Institute sponsored a conference about issues associated with public school finance and educational adequacy lawsuits. Visit the conference website to view the agenda, read working papers, and browse bios of presenting academics.
